When do toddlers learn to pedal

When will my toddler be able to use a ride-on toy? Your toddler will need to be a confident walker before she can use this sort of toy. When she's ready, start her off with a toy that's low enough to the ground for her to push it along with her feet. A ride-on toy usually has four wheels and handles that are easy to grip.

Once your toddler's got the hang of using both her feet to push the toy forward, she will move on to alternating feet. She'll soon learn that this can make her go faster!

References DH. Bike 4Life - Change4Life. From birth to five years: children's developmental progress. Hold the bike up while you do this so that the wheels can move freely and your child can see the bike in action. Have your child practice pedalling on your hands. Have your child sit in a chair that is roughly the same height as the bike seat. Sit across from your child, facing her. Put your palms at the height of the pedals and have your child place a foot in each of your palms.

Have your child practice with her legs. Ask your child to lie down on the floor. Lie down across from her so that the bottoms of your feet are touching the bottoms of her feet. Put your feet up in the air with her feet still touching yours and begin to pedal like you would on a bike. Have your child try to push your feet in a pedalling motion to help her gain the strength she will need to push the pedals on the real bike.

Demonstrate pedalling using your own bike. Sit on your bike and slowly pedal so that your child can see how you move your legs and how the wheels move because of the pedalling you are doing. Try to pedal slowly at first, and then more quickly as your child gains a better understanding of what you are doing. Let your child watch other children ride their bikes. Bring your child to a park where other kids ride bikes. Watching her peers may help your child to compartmentalize the process of pedalling.

Part 2. Choose the right size of bike. Because your child is a toddler, she should have a toddler-sized bike. To determine if the bike is the right size: [2] X Research source : Help your child to get on to the bike.

Have her stand above the top pipe of the frame with both feet on the ground. If she can do this comfortably, the bike is the appropriate size. Adjust the seat height. Seat height is very important for proper pedaling. Begin by putting the bike seat at its lowest level so that your child can practice pushing the bike rather than pedalling. To determine the seat height, make sure that your child can reach the pedal with her whole foot when the pedal is the lowest position.

Put a helmet on your child. It is very likely that your child will tip over or fall off the bike while she learns how to pedal. Because of this, a helmet is of the utmost importance. Part 3. If your child is very scared of falling, consider helping her by putting training wheels on her bike so that she can practice pedalling without the fear of falling.

Once she has mastered riding the bike with training wheels, take the training wheels off and proceed to the next step. Oh yes, and some trikes have the option to fold away foot rests at this stage to encourage toddlers to focus on pedalling and not put their feet up. Between the ages of 2 to 4, your child is likely to be ready to learn how to steer. This is the time to remove the parent steering handle. It will take a few practice goes before they get the hang of it.

They will pull on the levers pretty hard to begin with. You can then encourage them, while walking, to squeeze the brakes more slowly. Practice is key to getting the hang of it. Be careful not to make it into a stressful experience for the child, no matter how keen you are for them to join you on rides.